Jul 12,2007 00:00 by
UPI BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Alleged war criminals from the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel haven't been prosecuted, Amnesty International said Thursday.

Failure to hold those responsible for war crimes such as killing civilians makes it more likely such abuses will occur in the future, the London-based human rights organization said.

"The total lack of political will to hold to account those responsible for the alleged indiscriminate killing of civilians, more than 1,000 of whom lost their lives, is both a gross betrayal of the victims and a recipe for possible further civilian bloodshed with impunity," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program.

After the 34-day war, the Israeli government limited its investigation to military tactics while Lebanon didn't review its actions during the war at all, the group said. An inquiry by the U.N. Human Rights Council investigated only potential Israeli abuses.

To protect civilians from further abuses, Smart said the United Nations should launch a full and impartial investigation into alleged abuses by both sides and impose an arms embargo on both Israel and Hezbollah.